Apparatus for sterilizing milk.



M. VON RECKLINGHAUSEN.

APPARATUS FOR STERILIZING MILK.

Au-PLICATION FILED MAR. 14, 1914.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

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HAUSEN, a subject of the Emperor of Ger-.

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.MAX voN REOKLINGHAUSEN, on NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE R, U. v COMPANY, INo., or NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR STERILIZING MILK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 19115.

Application filed March 14, 1914. Serial No. 824,654.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAX voN REcKLrNomany, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Sterilizing Milk, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

- for the reason that'the action of the rays thereon imparts to it a disagreeable odor and flavor which renders it unfit for ordinary use, but this may be avoided and perfectlysterilized milk, without impairment of its edible properties, may be produced by passing it in a thin film through the rays at a certain definite and determined rate and temperature, sufiiciently slow to effect the sterilization, butnot to permit its impairment by the peculiar action thereon of such rays, if prolonged beyond a certain predeterminable time. To render this process practically useful, however, it is essential that some means be used whereby the process may be instantly arrested when for any cause the predetermined rate of flow of the milk is interfered with in any manner.

My present invention has, therefore, as its object the production of a means by the use of which milk may be effectively and properly sterilized, without impairment of 7 its original properties, and by which the process of sterilization may be immediately arrested, when any departure from the arbitrarily established procedure is occasioned by variation of flow or similar causes. lVith these objects in view, I use an apparatus for exposing the milk to the action of ultraviolet rays, which comprises aplate of quartz secured in such close and-fixed relation to a second plate. which may also be of quartz, as to form a receptacle through which the milk may be forced under predetermined pressure in a thin and transparent film, and while in such condition exposed to the sterilizing efi'ect of the rays. Vith this device, I have combined means for indicating, instantly, if so desired, when the rate of flow varies as may often happen, despite the most careful precautions, by the formation of particles of butter in the comparatively minute passages through which the milk is required to pass, such means being any device responsive to such variations and of which I have illustrated certain examples in the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a part sectional view of the means hereinbefore referred to for exposing the milk to ultra-violet rays, andone means for indicating a variation in the rate of flow. Fig. 2 is a view .in elevation of another means for indicating the variation of or arresting the flow.

The apparatus for sterilization comprises two plates A and B, the upper one of which, at least, is of a material transparent to ultraviolet rays, such as quartz. These plates are securely held at a very short distance apart, by any suitable means, such as rivets or clamps, and a fiat, somewhat elongated chamber or space is formed between them by the interposition of a sheet of tin foil C, out to impart to the chamber a proper shape,- With contracted or tapered ends, so that there will be a constant and uniform flow from one opening or inlet D, to the other opening or outlet E, at the opposite end.

The tube F, connected in any proper manner to the inlet, conducts the milk into the device at a predetermined pressure, by means of which the flow is regulated. Such means are not illustrated in detail, but are well known, and any device, such as a pump P, that will force the milk at a constant and predetermined pressure, may be employed for the purpose.

The outlet E may be a simple nozzle or extended into a pipe or tube, as the special requirements of the apparatus may demand.

In the use of this apparatus,.the milk treated in a well known way is subjected to the action of ultraviolet rays, such as a mercury vapor lamp having a quartz tube. By

the action of the ultra-violet rays which emanate from such lamp, the milk will be sterilized, and by test, the rate of flow at which the sterilized milk will issue in a condition in which its original properties are preserved unimpaired, may be readily determined.

It will frequently happen, in spite of all precautions, that the exceedingly limited passage through which the mill; required to flow, becomes sometimes clogged with particles of butter or other solids, and that thereby the rate of flow, under the established pressure, will be reduced. Under such circumstances, it becomes necessary to shut oil the pressure or stop the flow immediately, as the issuing milk will be found to have a disagreeable odorand flavor. For'this reason it is necessary to use as a part of the apparatus some device that will either effect automatically such stoppage, or give an indication, as by ringing a bell, of the occurrence of a variation in How, in order that the attendant may immediately take steps to correct it. Many devices may be employed for this purpose. In Fig. 1,

for example, I have shown a balanced beam 1 G upon one end of which is placed the bottle H to receive the sterilized milk, and upon the other a similar bottle or receptacle K into which water or other fluid at a predetermined rate is allowed to flow. Should; the flow of milk for any reason be reduced,

the water descending into the bottle K will over-balance the milk and tip the beam, thus indicating the fact, or efi'ecting through any suitable apparatus the shutting off of the milk supply.

In Fig. 2 another device for the same purpose is shown. In this figure the sterilized milk, projected under pressure from the nozzle E, normally falls into the open mouth of a bottle or jar H, but should any stoppage of the milk' passage occur, the trajectorypf the issuing stream will be varied and it will fall, not into the jar, but onto something that will give a signal, such as the contacts of a circuit closer M, by means of which, when closed by the milk, a bell is rung or a valve operated.

The above are given only as examples of the best means now known to me for effecting the result desired. Any other device for accomplishing the same purpose may, however, be used, and the invention is not limited in this regard.

What I claim is 1. The combination with a milk sterilizing apparatus, of thekind described, of a receptacle into which the stream of milk flowing from the apparatus falls, an. alarm mechanism and means, external of the sterilazer,'for operating the same, which is caused MAX VON REOKLINGHAUSEN.

IVitnesses M. LAWSON DYER, JOHN B. MCGUIRE. 

